Chapter 624: Saint Monastery (V)

"Get lost!"

Mini Bubble Gum let out a bellow and collided right into the enemies with her pike. However, the situation didn't develop in the direction that the Archbishop had imagined. The swords didn't penetrate through the Battle Angel's body and the expected broken pike didn't fall to the ground. Instead, the Archbishop witnessed countless sparks as the pitch-black blades slashed into the Battle Angel. Then, the Destroyer Guards clad in strong armor were blasted away as though they were punched in the gut by a massive fist. In the blink of an eye, they lost their strength entirely. Before the hopeful Destroyer Guards collapsed, he saw the Battle Angel lifting the pike in her hand again as she struck forward with all her might. Shortly after, the glaring light beam instantly devoured everything in its path.

"A bunch of worthless crap! You must be sick of living to try and stop me!"

Mini Bubble Gum landed on her feet nimbly and scanned the empty surrounding. The Destroyer Guards who tried to stop her had turned into corpses that scattered everywhere. Most of them had been crushed to death from the powerful blast.

What a terrifying presence!

A chill ran down the Archbishop's spine as he didn't expect this Battle Angel to be that powerful. His Destroyer Guards were the descendants of Half-Angels, who were much stronger than ordinary Humans. Besides, although they had given up the Light Dragon guidance, they had received new strength as a result. But it seemed that they were entirely useless against the Battle Angel!

Who is she exactly? Is she one of the three Archangels?

But she doesn't seem like one, judging from her way of speaking and style...

The Archbishop shook his head and gritted his teeth hard. This wasn't the time to ponder on this question. The aggressive intruder came prepared and it wasn't the time to stand idly and watch the show now! The Archbishop pulled in a soldier beside him and bellowed.

"Go! Release the 'Hound'. I will personally seek assistance from our two superiors. Remember. We must stop her at all cost! Don't let her enter the sacred hall!"

The Archbishop turned around and swept a glance at Mini Bubble Gum before bolting off hastily.

Rhode placed both hands behind his back and strode nonchalantly on the path that Mini Bubble Gum had triumphed her way through. Meanwhile, he looked at the flying line of system prompts and summoned the little mermaid. Since he had non-stop flowing EXP, he didn't mind using this chance to conveniently increase her levels too. Although several Saint Knights charged forward and launched attacks on them, they weren't able to harm them at all.

Canary pointed her finger forward and a strong whirlwind rose from the ground, forming an unbreakable barrier that locked every single threat out. Shortly after, countless, meteor-like flame arrows streaked across the night sky and exploded in every corner of the Saint Monastery. The twisted flames spread wildly and flourished into an enormous, mysterious monster with her magical powers. It widened its menacing mouth and pounced forward at its prey.

This was only the start.

Everything's going well.

Rhode nodded in satisfaction.

***

The blazing swords crashed on the invisible barrier and smeared the spotlessly white space with a vibrant, scarlet radiance that heated their throats. Lize held her palms together and golden runes unfolded around her to form a circular barrier that resisted the continuous batter. She extended her right arm forward and her slender fingers did a complex hand gesture. Shortly after, she emitted a glaring, golden beam like a razor-sharp blade that ripped through the smoke and flames as it aimed for the figure in the distance. But a heavy ice shield emerged out of thin air and collided with her attack, exploding into ice fragments. However, this wasn't enough to break Marlene's strong defense.

"Are you sure, Lize?"

Marlene emerged from behind the ice shield and floated into the air. As dazzling bolts of lightning and roaring blaze interwove around Marlene, her silhouette appeared to be tiny, yet terrifying. She stretched out her right hand. Flickering radiance surrounding her flowed and coalesced at her fingertips. At this moment, Lize felt the light around her dim all of a sudden and the figure hovering in the air had instantly became the ruler of this space. The air pressure clutched Lize's heart like an invisible hand, leaving her breathless.

Marlene has become stronger again.

Lize let out an inward sigh. Marlene has always been better than me in terms of studies, etiquettes and spell learning. I didn't choose to become a Mage and I've become a Cleric. But even so, I wasn't able to become as great as her and this goes in every aspect... But this time, I won't give up anymore.

"Y-Yes, Marlene. I like Rhode and I want to be with him. I just want to let you know about this..."

"So, what if I disapprove?"

Marlene lifted her finger and the dazzling radiance coalesced on her fingertips flowed rapidly into a tiny light sphere. Deep blue thunderbolts spun around the light sphere and shortly after, along with an ear-deafening explosion, a dazzling bolt of lightning exploded like a long, powerful whip that drew a glaring arc across the air. The golden barrier before Lize dazzled with sacred runes that permuted and reinforced her shield. At this moment, the lightning whip broke the sound barrier and crashed heavily on Lize's shield.

Boom!

The deep, resounding impact echoed and numbed their eardrums. The lightning bolts flickered non-stop and filthy dust fluttered recklessly. Cracks formed on the ground while billows of smoke concealed their visions. But shortly after, a whizzing gust cleared the area and Lize reemerged before Marlene's eyes. She panted as her shoulders shuddered. Her extended arms shook and the revolving golden barrier flickered as though a screen low on battery. It was apparent that she wasn't Marlene's match. But she didn't give up just yet.

"... Hu... Hu... Hu..."

Marlene's attack had applied tremendous pressure on her. She panted with her mouth wide open and her smooth forehead was drenched in sweat. But even so, her look of determination remain unchanged. She looked at Marlene with a firm gaze.

"I don't know, Marlene. But I will not give up. I will not let go of this happiness!"

Lize waved her arms. The radiance on the defense barrier around her flowed and coalesced into tiny ritual circles above her in the blink of an eye. Then, flawlessly white swords of light emerged from within the ritual circles and aimed at Marlene.

"I know it's wrong of me to do this, Marlene. But this is the only desire I've left. Everything that I've relied on has disappeared and now, this is the only desire that I can fight for! Marlene, it doesn't matter if you stop me because I will never back down!"

"But Rhode and I were together first, Lize."

Marlene sulked and pushed her hands down beside her. The lightning bolts flickered in the air and revolved around her before shooting up like snakes lifting their heads high, looking down upon the young lady before them.

"How can you do this behind my back?"

"You were in the wrong first, Marlene!"

Lize sucked in a deep breath of air and yelled at the top of her lungs.

"Mr. Rhode has always been with me from the start! Not you! It is my freedom to do whatever I want!"

Lize swung her arms with all her might and launched the swords of light that were bound in the ritual circles. At the same time, Marlene twitched her brows slightly. The lightning snakes fluttering above her widened their vicious mouths and dove toward Lize.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

The swords of light and lightning snakes collided and whiteness consumed every inch of space. The powerful holy and magical powers ripped apart the sky and earth. Then, everything restored to its tranquility...

Their vision gradually returned and the white space was replaced by the ice-cold floor, pitch-black walls, and the bright torches that hung on the walls. The two young ladies panted as they faced each other. But unlike before, they were revealing smiles.

"Hahaha..."

Marlene burst into laughter and even though Lize stared with a blush across her face, she couldn't help but laugh too. Their crisp laughter resounded in the empty underground hall and the hostility between them was nowhere to be seen.

"This is the first time that I've seen you so spontaneous, Lize. I was the first to be with Rhode. Hahaha... We should really let Royal Highness Lydia look at you right now. I've known you for so long, but I've never seen you arguing with me over a person."

"You're the one in the wrong, Marlene. And you knew... My feelings for Mr. Rhode. But you actually did such a thing behind my back. It hurt me a lot. I never expected this day where I would quarrel with my close friend over such matters."

"I'm aware of your feelings for Rhode, of course, Lize."

Marlene nodded with a gentle smile.

"This is why I'm here to apologize, but it isn't for betraying your feelings, Lize. Instead, I have to do this no matter if you like Rhode or not."

"Marlene?"

Lize looked vacantly with widened, astonishing eyes.

"What? What did you mean by that? Don't you like Mr. Rhode? If you do like him, why..."

"I don't mean that, Lize."

Marlene revealed a bitter smile. She stepped forth and stretched out her right hand to stroke Lize's cheek gently. Then, Marlene looked up at the pitch-black ceiling and let out a subtle sigh. She shifted her gaze back to Lize and said.

"I do like Rhode a lot and I'm satisfied with my life at this moment. But I'm just fortunate to meet someone that I really like, that's all. So, I want to apologize to you for it. I'm not apologizing for snatching your beloved. Instead, I'm apologizing for my fate. I'm destined to stay by Rhode's side and this is an irreversible fate. I can only say that much, for now."

"I-I still don't quite understand what you meant, Marlene..."

Lize displayed a complex expression.

"Did the Senia Family give you orders? Why must you..."

"I can't reveal the truth because this is something that I must keep private, Lize. But now, at least we're both able to receive the happiness that we earnestly hope for and isn't it enough?" Marlene gazed at Lize and couldn't help but let out a chuckle.

"But, come to think of it, I actually don't feel great, Lize. You never told me that you would do this and things turned into this state after I simply went for a trip to the Flourishing Blossom. This has made me..."

"Me too, Marlene. You don't know how angry I was when I first knew about your relationship with Mr. Rhode..."

Lize let out a chuckle.

"I never expected that my close friend would actually do such a thing behind my back. How infuriating! But now..."

The two young ladies exchanged looks and shook their heads simultaneously.

"Lize, let's treat as a secret between us and don't tell Rhode about it, especially about my situation. I know Rhode has begin to suspect, but it still isn't time for me to come clean to him, nor you. I can understand your doubts, but I hope that you can understand my difficulties too."

"Alright, Marlene."

Lize nodded in agreement. She held Marlene's hands and looked at her with a worried gaze.

"But I hope you wouldn't do anything dangerous and I know Mr. Rhode wouldn't want you to either. So if there's anything wrong, I want to be the first person to know. You are my best friend, Marlene, and this will never change."

"Got it, Lize. I will never forget your advice."

Marlene showed a gentle smile and cheekily winked at the other young lady.

"But no matter what, this is a trouble that Rhode caused for us. Without him, maybe we wouldn't have had this quarrel. So, I have a good idea, Lize... We have to let him know that he can't simply mess with us, alright? We aren't just a part of his flower vase collection on display for everyone to admire. We must make him pay for making us this miserable!"

"... But, Marlene, how do you intend to do it? Even if we worked together, we wouldn't be able to defeat Mr. Rhode..."

"We're indeed not his match if we fought him face to face. But Lize..."

The smile on Marlene's face widened. She extended a finger and spoke with a cheeky tone.

"Heh. Don't forget that we have superiorities that were blessed by the heavens."